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Home > News Releases > News 2011
Acquisition Update: Second Fast Response Cutter Launched; Named for Coast Guard Hero, Richard Etheridge
August 19, 2011
The Richard Etheridge is pierside following its launch on Aug. 18.
U.S.Coast Guard Photo
The U.S. Coast Guard’s second 154-foot Fast Response Cutter, the Richard Etheridge, was launched at Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, La., on Aug. 18. This marks a significant milestone in the Coast Guard’s acquisition of the Sentinel- class patrol boats, which will replace the service’s legacy 110-foot patrol boats.
While in the water, the vessel will undergo a series of tests and evaluations prior to its planned delivery early next year. The launch is one of many steps in the construction process, leading to sea trials and crew training later this year and, eventually, the commissioning of the vessel and commencement of its Coast Guard operations.
The Richard Etheridge will be capable of reaching speeds in excess of 28 knots and is designed to independently conduct many missions, including port, waterways and coastal security; fishery patrols; search and rescue; and national defense. The Sentinel-class patrol boat is equipped with a stern launch ramp that allows the vessel to deploy its cutter boat in a wide range of sea conditions.
The 24-person crew assigned to the Richard Etheridge will conduct additional testing and evaluation prior to its commissioning in 2012. The cutter will be homeported in Miami and will primarily perform missions to save lives, enforce U.S. and international maritime law, and ensure security in the Coast Guard’s 7th District off the Southeastern coast of the U.S. and in the Caribbean Sea.
The third Fast Response Cutter, the William Flores, is tentatively scheduled to be launched on Nov. 10.
All Fast Response Cutters delivered as part of the Sentinel-class will be named after enlisted Coast Guard heroes. Richard Etheridge became the first African-American to command a life-saving station when the service appointed him as the keeper of the Pea Island Life-Saving Station in North Carolina in 1880. On Oct. 11, 1896, Etheridge’s rigorous training drills proved to be invaluable when the three-masted schooner, the E.S. Newman, was caught in a terrifying storm. En route to Norfolk, Va., the vessel was blown 100 miles off course and came ashore on the beach two miles south of the Pea Island station. The storm was so severe that Etheridge had suspended normal beach patrols that day.
But the alert eyes of surfman Theodore Meekins saw the first distress flare and he immediately notified Etheridge. Etheridge gathered his crew and launched the surfboat. Battling the strong tide and sweeping currents, the dedicated lifesavers struggled to make their way to a point opposite the schooner, only to find there was no dry land. The daring, quick-witted Etheridge tied two of his strongest surfmen together and connected them to shore by a long line. They fought their way through the roaring breakers and finally reached the schooner. The seemingly inexhaustible Pea Island crewmembers journeyed through the perilous waters 10 times and finally rescued the entire crew of the E.S. Newman. For this rescue, the crew, including Etheridge, was awarded the Coast Guard’s Gold Lifesaving Medal.
With the launch of the Richard Etheridge, the Coast Guard's first two Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters have been placed in the water. The first Fast Response Cutter, the Bernard C. Webber, is in foreground. U.S. Coast Guard photo.
To learn more about the Sentinel-class patrol boat, visit the Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate’s website: http://www.uscg.mil/acquisition/sentinel/.
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